Caio Magalhaes scored his fourth straight win in the UFC with a 31-second knockout over Trevor Smith at UFC Fight Night 56, but the middleweight contest ended in controversial fashion.
After rocking Smith with a knee and a left cross, Magalhaes knocked him down with a hammerfist that clearly hit the back of Smith’s head. The Nova Uniao fighter kept landing hammerfirsts, some of those in the back of the head, and referee Keith Peterson stopped the fight.
Back in the United States, Smith has decided to appeal the controversial loss to the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA), trying to get the result overturned to a no-contest.
“My agent is speaking with the commission right now,” Smith told MMAFighting.com. “That’s the process we’re going through right now, but I haven’t had an update. My agent contacted the commission and they are going to review the case from there.”
Smith is convinced that illegal punches finished him, but that might not be enough to get the loss overturned.
“I’m pretty confident right now, but I’m not expecting them to,” he said. “The strikes were clearly illegal. The fight could have been a pretty entertaining fight. I’m not optimistic, but whatever the outcome I’m gonna deal with it.
“I didn’t even know the strikes were right at my spine like that, I just remember shooting for a takedown and I was kind of lost,” he continued. “When I looked at the video, and saw the shots at the back of my head, when I was shooting for a takedown.”
Speaking to MMAFighting.com after the bout, Magalhaes didn’t acknowledge any illegal blow during the fight.
“I didn’t notice that,” Magalhaes said. “His coach talked to me after the fight, said I punched the back of his head, but I didn’t notice it. The referee should have stepped in if he saw something, but he was already out from the punch and knee I landed.”
Due to illegal punches or not, Smith is just disappointed with the way the fight ended in 31 seconds.
“That’s the thing that hurts the most,” Smith said. “I’m going out there to put on a show for the fans, my family and everyone that trained with me, and for me to get stopped early, whether from an illegal blow or normal blow, that’s what hurts the most. It would have been a really tough fight. It’s a tough one to swallow.”
Smith dropped to 2-3 under the UFC banner with the knockout loss, and he’s hoping to get an immediate rematch with Magalhaes.
“I would actually like a rematch. I think it’s a killer match between me and Caio Magalhaes. Next time it’s going to be a different outcome,” he said. “A rematch would be great. He’s an up-and-comer, I think he’s won four of his last five fights in the UFC, so I would like to go back in there again and show everybody what that fight could have been.
“I’ll fight whoever they want me to fight. If they want to give me a rematch, great. But if not, I’ll come back and get him later.”
Caio Magalhaes scored his fourth straight win in the UFC with a 31-second knockout over Trevor Smith at UFC Fight Night 56, but the middleweight contest ended in controversial fashion.
After rocking Smith with a knee and a left cross, Magalhaes knocked him down with a hammerfist that clearly hit the back of Smith’s head. The Nova Uniao fighter kept landing hammerfirsts, some of those in the back of the head, and referee Keith Peterson stopped the fight.
Back in the United States, Smith has decided to appeal the controversial loss to the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA), trying to get the result overturned to a no-contest.
“My agent is speaking with the commission right now,” Smith told MMAFighting.com. “That’s the process we’re going through right now, but I haven’t had an update. My agent contacted the commission and they are going to review the case from there.”
Smith is convinced that illegal punches finished him, but that might not be enough to get the loss overturned.
“I’m pretty confident right now, but I’m not expecting them to,” he said. “The strikes were clearly illegal. The fight could have been a pretty entertaining fight. I’m not optimistic, but whatever the outcome I’m gonna deal with it.
“I didn’t even know the strikes were right at my spine like that, I just remember shooting for a takedown and I was kind of lost,” he continued. “When I looked at the video, and saw the shots at the back of my head, when I was shooting for a takedown.”
Speaking to MMAFighting.com after the bout, Magalhaes didn’t acknowledge any illegal blow during the fight.
“I didn’t notice that,” Magalhaes said. “His coach talked to me after the fight, said I punched the back of his head, but I didn’t notice it. The referee should have stepped in if he saw something, but he was already out from the punch and knee I landed.”
Due to illegal punches or not, Smith is just disappointed with the way the fight ended in 31 seconds.
“That’s the thing that hurts the most,” Smith said. “I’m going out there to put on a show for the fans, my family and everyone that trained with me, and for me to get stopped early, whether from an illegal blow or normal blow, that’s what hurts the most. It would have been a really tough fight. It’s a tough one to swallow.”
Smith dropped to 2-3 under the UFC banner with the knockout loss, and he’s hoping to get an immediate rematch with Magalhaes.
“I would actually like a rematch. I think it’s a killer match between me and Caio Magalhaes. Next time it’s going to be a different outcome,” he said. “A rematch would be great. He’s an up-and-comer, I think he’s won four of his last five fights in the UFC, so I would like to go back in there again and show everybody what that fight could have been.
“I’ll fight whoever they want me to fight. If they want to give me a rematch, great. But if not, I’ll come back and get him later.”
Kalindra Faria will fight Jessica Aguilar for the WSOF strawweight championship on Saturday night, and the promotion will have a fight in court because of that bout.
Faria fought twice for Xtreme Fighting Championships International this year, and XFC claims that the Brazilian fighter is still signed with the promotion.
“XFC has an exclusive contract with Ms. Kalindra Faria, which XFC provided to WSOF,” read a statement sent to MMAFighting.com on Friday. “Notwithstanding the clear terms of Ms. Faria’s exclusive contract with XFC, WSOF has made it clear it intends to proceed with Ms. Faria’s bout planned for this weekend.
“There is no question that XFC has a valid contract with Ms. Faria and that her fighting in a WSOF match this weekend violates XFC’s rights under that contract.”
“As a consequence of WSOF’s actions, XFC is filing suit against WSOF today in the United States District Court in Tampa. XFC is seeking to enforce its rights to the fullest extent of the law.”
Aguilar vs. Faria title fight is featured on WSOF 15’s main card in Tampa, Fla., on Saturday night.
Kalindra Faria will fight Jessica Aguilar for the WSOF strawweight championship on Saturday night, and the promotion will have a fight in court because of that bout.
Faria fought twice for Xtreme Fighting Championships International this year, and XFC claims that the Brazilian fighter is still signed with the promotion.
“XFC has an exclusive contract with Ms. Kalindra Faria, which XFC provided to WSOF,” read a statement sent to MMAFighting.com on Friday. “Notwithstanding the clear terms of Ms. Faria’s exclusive contract with XFC, WSOF has made it clear it intends to proceed with Ms. Faria’s bout planned for this weekend.
“There is no question that XFC has a valid contract with Ms. Faria and that her fighting in a WSOF match this weekend violates XFC’s rights under that contract.”
“As a consequence of WSOF’s actions, XFC is filing suit against WSOF today in the United States District Court in Tampa. XFC is seeking to enforce its rights to the fullest extent of the law.”
Aguilar vs. Faria title fight is featured on WSOF 15’s main card in Tampa, Fla., on Saturday night.
The UFC announced on Thursday that Rafael Natal and Tom Watson are set to collide at the UFC 183 pay-per-view card in Las Vegas on Jan. 31. So far, seven of the eight bouts officially announced for the fight card features at least one Brazilian.
The Brazilian middleweight Natal (18-6-1) gets back in action following a close decision win over Chris Camozzi in September, moving back to the win column following losses to Tim Kennedy and Ed Herman.
England’s Watson (17-7) also enters the bout after recently ending a losing skid. “Kong”, who suffered decision losses to Thales Leites and Nick Catone, holds a UFC record of 2-3 after scoring a win over Sam Alvey in August.
Headlined by Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz, UFC 183 takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The UFC announced on Thursday that Rafael Natal and Tom Watson are set to collide at the UFC 183 pay-per-view card in Las Vegas on Jan. 31. So far, seven of the eight bouts officially announced for the fight card features at least one Brazilian.
The Brazilian middleweight Natal (18-6-1) gets back in action following a close decision win over Chris Camozzi in September, moving back to the win column following losses to Tim Kennedy and Ed Herman.
England’s Watson (17-7) also enters the bout after recently ending a losing skid. “Kong”, who suffered decision losses to Thales Leites and Nick Catone, holds a UFC record of 2-3 after scoring a win over Sam Alvey in August.
Headlined by Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz, UFC 183 takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Cain Velasquez last defended the UFC heavyweight title in October 2013, and he will have to be back in action by March 2015 if he wants to keep his belt.
Velasquez, forced out of his UFC 180 bout with Fabricio Werdum on Nov. 15 and replaced by Mark Hunt, will likely be stripped of his UFC heavyweight title if he can’t fight early next year, UFC president Dana White announced on UFC.com.
“We’re headed in that direction now,” White said. “This next fight in Mexico is for the interim title. So if Cain couldn’t compete again, the winner of this fight would be seen as the champion.”
Hunt and Werdum will meet for the interim title at Saturday’s UFC card in Mexico City.
“Werdum is very dangerous on the ground. Everybody talks about his ground game and him maybe being the best submission guy in the heavyweight division, but look what he did to Travis Browne standing up,” White said. “His stand up looked unbelievable, and one of the problems for guys like Hunt and Roy Nelson, they’re top 10 fighters, but when you break into that top five the athleticism of some of these heavyweights is too much for those guys.”
“But with Hunt, what makes him so exciting is that with one punch he can change everything,” he added. “All he has to do is clip you, barely, and he can put you away.”
Cain Velasquez last defended the UFC heavyweight title in October 2013, and he will have to be back in action by March 2015 if he wants to keep his belt.
Velasquez, forced out of his UFC 180 bout with Fabricio Werdum on Nov. 15 and replaced by Mark Hunt, will likely be stripped of his UFC heavyweight title if he can’t fight early next year, UFC president Dana White announced on UFC.com.
“We’re headed in that direction now,” White said. “This next fight in Mexico is for the interim title. So if Cain couldn’t compete again, the winner of this fight would be seen as the champion.”
Hunt and Werdum will meet for the interim title at Saturday’s UFC card in Mexico City.
“Werdum is very dangerous on the ground. Everybody talks about his ground game and him maybe being the best submission guy in the heavyweight division, but look what he did to Travis Browne standing up,” White said. “His stand up looked unbelievable, and one of the problems for guys like Hunt and Roy Nelson, they’re top 10 fighters, but when you break into that top five the athleticism of some of these heavyweights is too much for those guys.”
“But with Hunt, what makes him so exciting is that with one punch he can change everything,” he added. “All he has to do is clip you, barely, and he can put you away.”
Kalindra Faria will challenge Jessica Aguilar for the WSOF strawweight championship on Saturday night in Tampa, Fla., but she’s still grounded in Brazil.
Fighting outside of her home country for the first time in her professional career, Faria (15-3-1) missed her flight to the United States due to passport and visa issues.
“My weight cut is a little stressing because I’m still trying to get my passport and visa to fly to the United States,” Faria told MMAFighting.com on Thursday morning. “My visa was approved on Friday and I was supposed to travel Tuesday, but the consulate always says it’s something missing. I have to cut weight and go from Taubate to Sao Paulo every day to ask for my passport, so it’s complicated.”
WSOF 15 official weigh-ins take place tomorrow in Tampa, and the Brazilian strawweight expects to get there a few hours before stepping on the scale at 115 pounds.
“I have a flight ticket to leave tonight, at 11 p.m., and I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to cut all the weight before weigh-ins tomorrow, so I’m cutting the most I can now,” she said. “Weigh-in is set for 2:30 p.m. and I’ll get there at 9:30 a.m., so we’ll see. I’m dehydrating, cutting weight, so I’m stressed.”
A few hours later, WSOF executive vice president Ali Abdel-Aziz confirmed to MMAFighting.com that all the issues were solved.
“Kalindra just got her visa and is on her way to the U.S.,” Abdel-Aziz said.
Faria makes her WSOF debut in a title fight after racking up 11 consecutive victories with six stoppages, and she’s confident she will finish Aguilar on Saturday night.
“The fight won’t be as hard as this whole madness,” Faria said with a laugh. “I expect a great fight, the fight of the night. She likes to box, works close to the fence and go for submissions, but I trained hard for that. I always fought jiu-jitsu black belts, so I’m used to that game. I’m training so she won’t be able to surprise me with anything.”
“I will bring this title to Brazil,” she continued. “I want to finish her. In order to defeat the champion, you have to really beat the champion. I can submit her, I can knock her out. I have an aggressive style, and I’ll do my best to finish this fight. I know everything she does and how she does. It’s going to be a great fight. I’m coming off a great winning streak and it’s an important fight for me.”
Kalindra Faria will challenge Jessica Aguilar for the WSOF strawweight championship on Saturday night in Tampa, Fla., but she’s still grounded in Brazil.
Fighting outside of her home country for the first time in her professional career, Faria (15-3-1) missed her flight to the United States due to passport and visa issues.
“My weight cut is a little stressing because I’m still trying to get my passport and visa to fly to the United States,” Faria told MMAFighting.com on Thursday morning. “My visa was approved on Friday and I was supposed to travel Tuesday, but the consulate always says it’s something missing. I have to cut weight and go from Taubate to Sao Paulo every day to ask for my passport, so it’s complicated.”
WSOF 15 official weigh-ins take place tomorrow in Tampa, and the Brazilian strawweight expects to get there a few hours before stepping on the scale at 115 pounds.
“I have a flight ticket to leave tonight, at 11 p.m., and I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to cut all the weight before weigh-ins tomorrow, so I’m cutting the most I can now,” she said. “Weigh-in is set for 2:30 p.m. and I’ll get there at 9:30 a.m., so we’ll see. I’m dehydrating, cutting weight, so I’m stressed.”
A few hours later, WSOF executive vice president Ali Abdel-Aziz confirmed to MMAFighting.com that all the issues were solved.
“Kalindra just got her visa and is on her way to the U.S.,” Abdel-Aziz said.
Faria makes her WSOF debut in a title fight after racking up 11 consecutive victories with six stoppages, and she’s confident she will finish Aguilar on Saturday night.
“The fight won’t be as hard as this whole madness,” Faria said with a laugh. “I expect a great fight, the fight of the night. She likes to box, works close to the fence and go for submissions, but I trained hard for that. I always fought jiu-jitsu black belts, so I’m used to that game. I’m training so she won’t be able to surprise me with anything.”
“I will bring this title to Brazil,” she continued. “I want to finish her. In order to defeat the champion, you have to really beat the champion. I can submit her, I can knock her out. I have an aggressive style, and I’ll do my best to finish this fight. I know everything she does and how she does. It’s going to be a great fight. I’m coming off a great winning streak and it’s an important fight for me.”
The UFC announced on Wednesday that Miesha Tate will return to the Octagon at UFC 183 against Sara McMann, but that wasn’t the first option for “Cupcake.”
Bethe Correia, who engaged on a verbal war with Tate for almost a month, was the original opponent for the former Strikeforce champion, but was unable to accept the bout.
“They offered me to fight Miesha three times,” Correia told MMAFighting.com. “The first date was in December, then January and February, but I couldn’t take it because I’m injured.
“I tried to convince my doctor to let me fight, but he said I can’t come back before March. I can fight King Kong in March, but I can’t fight before.”
Correia said “it’s nothing serious,” but prefers not to disclose the injury.
Undefeated in MMA and 3-0 under the UFC banner, Correia vows to finish any top 5 they give her.
“I promised my fans that I would bring the title to Brazil,” she said. “I will knock out any top 5 in the first round. That’s a promise.”
The UFC announced on Wednesday that Miesha Tate will return to the Octagon at UFC 183 against Sara McMann, but that wasn’t the first option for “Cupcake.”
Bethe Correia, who engaged on a verbal war with Tate for almost a month, was the original opponent for the former Strikeforce champion, but was unable to accept the bout.
“They offered me to fight Miesha three times,” Correia told MMAFighting.com. “The first date was in December, then January and February, but I couldn’t take it because I’m injured.
“I tried to convince my doctor to let me fight, but he said I can’t come back before March. I can fight King Kong in March, but I can’t fight before.”
Correia said “it’s nothing serious,” but prefers not to disclose the injury.
Undefeated in MMA and 3-0 under the UFC banner, Correia vows to finish any top 5 they give her.
“I promised my fans that I would bring the title to Brazil,” she said. “I will knock out any top 5 in the first round. That’s a promise.”
